Backgrounder
Climate change
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Technology transfer for
Least Developed Countries
The UNFCCC’s technology transfer activities
must meet the Least Developed Countries’ needs
To the farmers, villagers, islanders and city
dwellers of the 48 Least Developed
Countries (LDCs), climate change is not a
distant problem. It is a daily reality and brings
problems including drought, increasingly
saline drinking water and rising seas. In the
first ten years of the 21st century, droughts
in the LDCs increased by 44 per cent
compared with the previous decade, and the
frequency of severe storms increased by 40
per cent.
The world desperately needs an effective
international climate agreement that can
offer everyone a sustainable future. Under
the UNFCCC, nations are negotiating the
next international climate agreement which
is to be signed in December 2015 and
come into effect in 2020. Technology
transfer will be a fundamentally important
piece of the 2015 agreement, especially
for the LDCs who will struggle to adapt
without it.
Contact and feedback: Brianna Craft brianna.craft@iied.org
Keywords:
Least Developed Countries, UNFCCC,
climate change adaptation, technology
transfer, finance
Technology transfer and the
UNFCCC
On paper at least, technology transfer
already has a prominent place in the
UNFCCC. It is essential if the LDCs and
other developing countries are to quickly
adapt to climate change and shift to cleaner
development pathways. Technology transfer
involves governments, private sector
enterprises, financial institutions, non-
governmental organisations and research
and education institutions.
The UNFCCC makes special provisions for
the most vulnerable countries’ technology
transfers. The convention’s statutes stress that
developed countries are to take all practicable
steps to promote, facilitate and finance the
transfer of environmentally sound
technologies to developing countries.
UNFCCC Article 4.9 specifically states that
parties shall take full account of the specific
needs and special situations of the LDCs in
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Issue date
September 2014
Key terms
The Least Developed Countries
(LDC) Group: a group of 48 of the
world’s poorest nations acting as a
bloc within the UN climate change
negotiations. Especially vulnerable to
climate change, the LDCs have done
the least to cause it.
Technology transfer: integrating
technologies into nations that do not
yet have them. Technology transfer is
viewed broadly as the flow of
know-how, experience and
equipment.
Climate adaptation: the process by
which countries, communities and
individuals adjust to the challenges of
climate change.
Climate mitigation: actions to limit
the scale of climate change, generally
by reducing emissions of greenhouse
gases.
Capacity building: building capability
and competence among individuals,
organisations and institutions.
vital statistics
211: number of technology transfer
projects in the LDCs reported to the
UNFCCC from 1992–2012
US$20 billion: estimated cost of
adequately funding technology transfer
to the LDCs from 1992–2012
US$1.43–3.35 billion: reported
funding allocated to LDC technology
transfer projects from 1992–2012
More than double: developed
nations spent approximately US$940
million on technology to mitigate
greenhouse gas emissions in the
LDCs. That’s more than double the
US$460 million devoted to
adaptation in these vulnerable
countries.
IIED Backgrounder Technology transfer for Least Developed Countries
their actions regarding funding and transfer of
technology. All parties to the UNFCCC agreed
to these tenets over 20 years ago in 1992.
In 2010, the UNFCCC established its
Technology Mechanism composed of a
Technology Executive Committee (TEC) and a
Climate Technology Centre and Network
(CTCN). Fully operational as of 2014, the
Technology Mechanism is meant to help
developing countries address their nationally
determined mitigation and adaptation
technology needs. The Technology
Mechanism, its TEC and the CTCN present an
enormous opportunity to create tools that truly
help develop and transfer technology. Their
connection to the 2015 agreement, which
nations are currently negotiating, will guide the
UNFCCC’s technology activities for the
foreseeable future.
The LDC’s technology
transfer needs
The LDC Group has identified three primary
needs for technology transfer through the
UNFCCC: adaptation technologies, capacity-
building activities and adequate funding.
Comparing these stated needs with
investments in technology transfer projects
(investments before the Technology
Mechanism became fully operational) shows
clearly that the UNFCCC’s technology
activities have not met the LDCs’ needs over
the past two decades.
The LDCs identify adaptation technologies
as their top priority for the technology
transfer process. Most of the convention’s
technology transfer projects in LDCs do
address adaptation, but they are not nearly
enough. More than double the money spent
on adaptation has been spent on mitigation
in the LDCs. Between 1992 and 2012, 107
adaptation technology transfer projects
received US$464 million, whereas US$938
million went to fund 93 mitigation projects.
This mismatch reflects a history of
preference for mitigation rather than
adaptation activities under the UNFCCC.
The LDCs’ second most desired technology
transfer has been for projects that include
capacity building. Yet only one third of the 211
technology transfer projects conducted in the
LDCs have had a specific capacity-building
component. Effective capacity building is
complex and requires two paradigm shifts.
The first is recognition that both developed
and developing countries need capacity
building to address climate change. The
second is a move away from trying to replicate
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developed country models in developing
countries and instead using technology
transfers to address specific local needs.
The LDCs have also asked for adequate
funding for technology transfer. The total
funding that developed countries reported
spending on LDC technology transfer
projects from 1992 to 2012 ranges from
US$1.43 billion to US$3.35 billion. The low
estimate excludes co-financing measures
such as loans, and even the higher estimate
is inadequate for truly addressing the LDCs’
technology transfer needs. These amounts
are estimated because some developed
countries omitted financial data in their
reporting to the UNFCCC.
An analysis of estimates from the Expert
Group on Technology Transfer and other
levies proposed by the LDC group indicates
that US$20 billion would have been needed
to adequately fund the projects conducted
from 1992 to 2012. The lack of funds for
LDC technology transfer projects
undoubtedly reflects developed countries’
continuing underfunding of their
commitments to the LDCs.
Technology transfer and the
2015 agreement
Nations must establish a working framework
within the 2015 agreement that addresses
the LDCs’ technology transfer needs and
those of other developing nations. In light of
the past preference for mitigation, LDC
negotiators could call for a mandated
balance between adaptation and mitigation
technology support. Establishing a special
technology programme dedicated to LDCs
might also ensure that future work meets the
needs of the most vulnerable. Over the next
few months, the LDCs must carefully
consider what changes the Technology
Mechanism should implement under the
2015 agreement and bring these proposals
to the negotiating table.
Knowledge
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The International Institute for Environment
and Development (IIED) promotes
sustainable development, linking local
priorities to global challenges. We support
some of the world’s most vulnerable people
to strengthen their voice in decision making.
One third: the proportion of
technology transfer projects in LDCs
with a specific capacity building
component
Key spaces
UNFCCC: adopted in 1992, the
United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) is the international body
charged with addressing climate
change, particularly in stabilising
greenhouse gas concentrations at a
level that would prevent dangerous
human interference with the climate
system.
The 2015 agreement: a new treaty
is being negotiated under the
UNFCCC. It will apply to all nations
and govern the future international
climate regime. Countries have
agreed to finalise the treaty by the
end of 2015. It comes into force in
2020.
Technology Executive Committee
(TEC): the UNFCCC’s Technology
Mechanism has a Technology
Executive Committee that sets the
overall policy direction at the
international level for accelerating
technology development and transfer.
Climate Technology Centre and
Network (CTCN): the CTCN is a
branch of the UNFCCC’s Technology
Mechanism that provides practical
assistance to help governments
prepare and implement the
technological transitions that are
required to address climate change.
Sources
The Least Developed Countries and
technology transfer under the United
Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change: has the Convention
addressed the stated needs of the
vulnerable? https://envstudies.
brown.edu/theses/
archiver20122013/CraftThesis.pdf
Least Developed Countries:
http://ldcclimate.wordpress.com
UNFCCC Technology Work: http://
unfccc.int/focus/technology/
items/7000.php